Wheeled lift truck



Max-cli 18, 1958 w. R. STAMLER 2,826,997

y WHEELEID LIFT TRUCK Filed March 25, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 18, 1958 w. R. STAMLER v 2,326,997

WHEELED LIFT TRUCK Filed March 25, 1954 s sheets-sheet 2 l'l ,Ill

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ATTORNEYS March 18, 1958 w. R. STAMLER WHEELED LIFT TRUCK 3 Sheeis-Sheet 3 Filed March 25, 1954 wpgwm TTOENEYS.

2,820,992? Patented Mar. 18, i958 WHEELED LIFT TRUCK William R. Stamler, Paris, Ky.

Application March 25, 1954, Serial No. 418,697

3 Claims. (Cl. 104-162) This invention relates to mining apparatus, and is directed in particular to a truck device which is adapted to be used for transporting a car spotter, of the type exemplified by the disclosure of my United States Letters Patent N0. 2,606,504, from one site of operations to another site of operations in a mine over the trackage system upon which the mine cars are operated.

A car spotter or car shifter, as it is sometimes called, is employed in a mechanized coal mining operation to advance a string of mine cars, one car at a time, to a loading station. At the loading station the cars are illed with coal which is discharged into them from a conveyor system. Once a loading station is set up it may continue in operation until the supply of coal at the working faces in the vicinity of the station is exhausted; or, the station may be decommissioned when it becomes impractical to further extend the conveyor system serving the station. ln any event, it becomes necessary from time to time to relocate the point of loading and thus move the equipment comprising the station. In making such a move the car spotter presents a problem because of its size and weight.

In Patent No. 2,606,504, l have disclosed a hydraulically operated car spotter which is designed to be placed between the rails and on the ties of the tracks over which the cars operate. The spotter mechanism is mounted within a heavy frame which is constructed so as to provide a skid or sled which may be coupled to a mine locomotive and dragged from place to place in the mine over the ties of the track system. This method of moving the car spotter works satisfactorily where the move is a short one. However, it is unduly time consuming for long hauls. Mine tracks ordinarily are laid over the open floor of the mine and, since the trackage installation is usually of a temporary nature, no special Y precautions are taken to level the track or to prepare the track bed. Thus, the ties are uneven so that the sledlike car spotter must be advanced slowly and with caution.

The principle objective of the present invention is to provide a more eii'icient means for transporting or moving such a car spotter from place to place within a mine.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a truck device for transporting a car spotter which is adapted to lift a car spotter from its operating position between the rails of the track system, transport it over the rails to a new location, and then deposit it in operating position at the new location.

A further objective is to provide a truck device of the type described which may be actuated hydraulically to lift the car spotter into position for movement, utilizing hydraulic pressure which is available at the site.

Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, in which some parts are broken away, illustrating a car spotter and a lift truck embodying the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2 illustrating details of construction of the lift truck and particularly the means for attaching a car spotter to the truck.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the truck device shown at the right in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged top plan view of the device shown in Figure 4.

For the details of the construction and operation of the car spotter shown here, reference is made to Patent No. 2,606,504. The spotter mechanism is mounted between a pair of heavy channel members, each of which is indicated at 10, and which extend along the two sides of the spotter from one end to the other. These channel members are arranged so that each opens outwardly to provide in each case an upper ange l1 and a lower flange 12, which flanges are joined by a web portion i3 of the channel. The respective web portions or the two channels are attached to o-ne another by a cross brace such as is shown at 14. The frame is further strengthened by an inverted T-shaped beam 15 which extends longitudinally of the spotter through the center thereof.

In operation, the car spotter rests upon the cross ties, which are indicated at 16, between the two rails 17-17 of the trackage system at the loading station. Means, not shown, are provided to anchor the frame of the spotter to the rails and to the cross ties. Hydraulic fluid, under pressure, for operating the car spotter enters the spotter system through a connection 18, the pressure being supplied by an electrically driven pump not shown. To prepare the spotter for movement to another location, it is necessary only to break the hydraulic connection and to remove the fasteners which anchor it to the ties and rails.

The lift truck of this invention actually comprises two trucks as the term is used in describing railroad equipment. One such truck is indicated generally in the drawings at i9 and the other at 20. The two trucks preferably are of identical construction and their positions may be reversed if desired. Each truck comprises a cross meniber 21 which preferably is of tubular construction. A crank arm 22 is rigidly atiixed to each of the opposite ends of the cross member. At the outer end of each crank arm, a journal member 23 is mounted for rotation about an axis which is parallel to the axis of the cross member. Each journal member mounts a wheeled carriage 24 which is rotatably attached to the member so that the carriage may turn about a vertical axis. Each carriage mounts a pair of ilanged rail wheels 25. At the center of the cross member 21, an actuating lever, indicated generally at 26, is provided. ln the instance shown the actuating lever is disposed substantially at to the two crank arms 22 which are at the respective sides of the cross member.

In the embodiment shown, the trucks, including the actuating lever, the cross member and the carriages are of welded construction. The actuating lever 26 may consist of an elongated plate 27 having an aperture in the lower end thereof which ts around the tubular cross member 21. The tube in the instance shown is welded directly to plate 27. Plate 27 is stabilized laterally by two triangularly shaped webs 28-23 which are welded respectively to the tube and to the plate. Each crank arm 22 may be fabricated from two short sections of stock yangle iron material which are welded together to provide a box-like construction as shown in Figure 3. Each journal member 23 is attached toits crank arm by means of a stub shaft 30 which extends through an aperturev in the outer wall of the crank arm 22, being welded therein and to the opposite wall of the box-like configuration. Journal member 23 may consist of vertically disposed wallsV 31 Vand a web, Y32` which are joined by welding into a'U-.shape V`The'twovertical walls 31 are aperturedV toaccommodate'the stub shaft 36. The journalY 23 may be held upon the stub shaftby Y means of a heavy cotter pin 33 with a washer interposed between the pin and the journal.` vrl`he underside of web 32 of the journal member has a stub shaft 34 welded to it which depends intothe carriage 24. The carriage may consist of side walls'35 which are. generally triangular in shape (see Figure 4). At'theV topfof `the carriage a flat plate 36is welded to theV two sidewalls to provide a supporting surfaceupon which the'web 32 of the journal' member. 23 may rest. At the underside of the carriage another flat plate`37 is welded to the twotside walls, with Vspace being provided to accommodate the two wheels 25 at the `respective opposite ends of the carriage. The carriage may be further strengthened by a`rib 38^which is weldedfto Ythewall at the outer side ofthe carriage. The two hanged wheels are mounted on short axles 39' which arejournalled in the respective wallsof the carriage.

. It will be obvious that the parts just described may be fabricated as castings or combinations of castings and welded parts if desired.

' Just inwardly'of each lcrank arm 22, a sleeve 40 is slidably mounted upon Ythe tube 21. VEach sleeve has a pair of lugs .4l-41 welded to it at the opposite sides thereoff"The lugs depend tangentially from the sleeve parallel with oneanother. Each lug has a slot 42 cut into' the-inneredgev thereof, the slot in each instance being designed to engage the upper ange 11 of a channel member 10 of the frame of the car spotter.

To attachthe two trucksto the car spotter frame, the trucks are positioned as shown and the flanged wheels engaged upon the rails of the mine track. The respective levers 26 are then swungA down away from one another into the position shown in Figure 4. This lowers the tubular members 21 so vthat they rest upon top of the spotter framework. In this position vthe respective Vsleeves 40 of each truck, which are slidably mounted on the respective tubes thereof, may be moved toward one another to engage theV slots 42 in the lugsv 41 over the flanges 11. Thus engaged, a pin Yof Vthe type shown at 43 may be engaged in an. appropriate bore in the tube to the outside of each sleeve to Vprevent the respective sleeves from be- Y coming disengaged with the car spotter. Both trucks are attached in the same manner, however, they are positioned so that the two actuating levers 26 swing away from one another.

Each actuating lever has an aperture 44 in the upper end thereof. AsV shown inFigure 2, alink 45 is pinned to the'aperture 44 of the actuatingl lever. This link is pinned to a hydraulic cylinder46.V VA piston rod 47 extends from the opposite end vof the hydraulic cylinder toward the actuating lever (.26 of truck 19,. and is attached to the lever of truck 19by .means of a heavy chain 48, cable or the like.Y lThehydraulic. cylinder 46 is arranged so that piston rod.47 is in extended position lbefore hydraulic pressure is applied through ahose connection 49.` Upon the application of lhydraulic pressure, which may be provided'jby the motor and pump unit used to drive the car spotter,-the piston rod 47 is retracted into cylinder-'46 drawing the two` actuating levers 26 up into the vertica-Lpositio'ns Vshowniny Figure Y 2. In this movement the'four crank arms--pivot'uponV the stub shafts 30v andon'tubular-membeISfZL-so that the respective tubular members are raised simultaneously to lift the car spotter. .into .anfelev-ated position.

jTo prevent :the respective 'sets ofA slotted lug's, 41fof ithemV levers inthe trucks Yare drawn'towardone anothenfblocks A stop such as the one indicated in Figure 3 bythe numeral 51 is provided for each truck to limit the movement of the respective actuating arms 26 when they are drawn toward one another to lift the car spotter. Each of the .stops 51 iswelded to the tubular member 21 of the truck Vin position toengage the upper flange 11 of one of the channels 10. Y lnithe embodiment disclosed in the drawings, the respective stops 51 become effective when the actuating arms 'reachV the vertical position. lf desired, the stops may be arrangedso that the Yarmsswing toward one another past the vertical, into positions in which they may be substantially at 45 to the horizontal. This would, of course, cause the car spotter to' be elevated higher with respect to the track bed than is shown in Figure 3. In addition, the angle between crank arms 22 .rand the actuatingV arm 26of `each vtruck may-be Ychanged so that the crank armsy assume otherzpositions than those shown, when the car spotter is elevated.

A valve (not shown)..may be provided in the hydraulic line 49 to hold the hydraulic .pressure in cylinder` 46m order to maintain the carfspotter in elevated position. Alternatively, the two actuating levers 26 may bechained or otherwise linked to one another. In addition, in certain installations, it may be found expedient to replace .the hydraulic cylinder with a hand or powerV operatedV chain hoist or other mechanically operated means adapted to'draw the two actuating arms toward one another.

locomotive so that it may be moved along the Vcar lrails to a new location, a drawbar 52 may be used (Fig. l), the .drawbar being attached directly to the inverted T- beam 15 inthe car spotter frame. If such a connection cannot be madel thenV a bar 53 which is linked as at 54 (Fig. 2) tothe actuating lever of truck 19 may be used. When the car spotter arrives at the newY location, the hydraulic pressure in cylinder 46 may be bled out slowly to lower the car spotter onto the ties where it is in operating position. It will be seen, therefore, that I have `provided a simple and inexpensive means for `transporting a carspotter over the. trackage system inV a mine from one location to another. VThe means provided have Y,the advantage that, the carl spotter is lifted from the position in which it is ,used and deposited in the same relative position atltbe new location.

. YHaving Idescribed my invention, I claim:

1. The combination of amine car spotter and means Yfor transportingrsaid vcar.` spotter from place toplace in a mine `over the trackage. rsystem uponwhich the Vmine `cars'are operated, said spotter being ,of the type to VresideV between theV rails and upon the ties `of the trackage system when in operating position, said means comprising a pair oftrucks, each truck of the pair including two 55 Wheeled carriages and a cross member joining said carriages, eachof said trucks straddling the car spotter, with one carriage riding onY the rail atone side of the car spotter and :with vthe Vother carriage :riding on the rail at the opposite side'of thejspotter, each truck also including a crank devicev havingl two arms which are -disposed sub- 'estantially atKright-angles `to one another, the outerend of kthe first one of k'said Varms of the crank device pivotally Y mounted uponthe cross-member of the .truck Vand Athe Ysecondy armthereof extending upwardly, Athe two trucksV disposed in spaced relation withV the rst arms ofthe re- Y F spective crank devices Iextending'y away from one another,

two arms offeach crank device Vandenga'geable withthe 'car spotter-upon the swinging of the `upright armsV ofthe two crank devicesawaytrom one another, and hydrauli- -cally `operated means interconnecting the-two-upright arms to draw the rtwo arms toward one another- =upongthe application of hydraulic'luid andV thereby cause thetwo crank devices to pivot about the respective cross mem- Tfabers fof-the itwotrucks. and elevateV the two car .gripping In order to attach the raised car spotter to a mineV Y carspotter gripping means mounted at the juncture of the accesar devices for raising the car spotter above the ties in suspended relation with respect to the two trucks for transportation along the trackage system.

2. The combination of a mine car spotter and means' for transporting said car spotter from place to place in a mine over the trackage system upon which the mine cars are operated, said spotter being of the type to reside between the rails and upon the ties of the track-age system when in operating position, said means comprising two trucks, each truck of the pair including two wheeled carriages spaced to ride upon the respective rails at the opposite sides of the spotter and a cross member joining said carriages and straddling the space between said rails above the spotter, each truck also including a crank device having two arms which are disposed substantially at right angles to one another, the outer end of the iirst arm of -the crank device pivoted upon the cross member of the truck with the second arm thereof extending up wardly, the two trucks disposed above the car spotter in spaced relation and with the first arms of the respective crank devices extending away from one another, car spotter engaging means mounted upon the junctures of the two arms of each crank device and engageable with the car spotter upon the swinging of the second arms of the two crank devices away from one another, and means interconnecting the =two second arms to draw the two arms toward one another to raise the car spotter from the ties.

3. The combination of ya mine car spotter and means for transporting said car spotter from place to place in a mine over the trackage system upon which the mine cars are operated, said spotter being of the type to reside between the rails and upon the ties of the trackage system when in operating position, said means comprising two trucks, each truck of the pair including two, wheeled carriages arranged with one carriage riding on one rail and the other carriage riding on the other rail opposite the irst carriage, a rigid cross member joining said carriages and being pivotally journalled to each -at a point between and above the two wheels thereof for relative pivotal movement about a Vertical axis to permit the truck Vto travel around curves, each truck also including a crank device having two :arms which are disposed substantially at right angles t-o one another, the outer end of the rst arm of the crank device pivotally mounted upon the cross member of the truck and the other arm thereof extending upwardly, the two trucks positionable over the car spotter in spaced relation with the rst arms of the respective crank devices extending away from one another, car spotter engaging means mounted at the juncture of the two arms of each crank device and engageable with the car spotter upon the swinging of the second arms of the two crank devices away from one another, and means interconnecting the two second arms to draw the two arms toward one another to raise the car spotter.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

